Harv
Elite Member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2000
- Messages
- 3,371
- Tractor
- Kubota L2500DT Standard Transmission
I gotta pay homage one more time to my tractor broker, Mike, who I shall now call "Miracle Mike". Not only did he find me my L2500DT, but within 48 hours of my signing on the dotted line he got the tractor from the dealer, picked up the loader from a Kubota parts house and installed it, ordered and then drove out to pick up the implements I wanted, threw them all on his trailer, and when I arrived at my foothills property Saturday, there he was having just unloaded it all.
Anybody in central California looking for any kind of tractor or implement, I'll be glad to put you in touch with Miracle Mike.
I had never met him in person before the delivery and he must have thought I was crazy, 'cuz instead of running over to jump on the tractor, I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures (gotta share with the board, don't you know). /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Mike proceeded to give me about a one-hour lesson on how to use the machine. He wouldn't leave until he was sure I understood all the controls and could demonstrate them to his satisfaction. I was self-conscious as hell, but it was a very worthwhile hour.
After he left, my first priority was to make sure I could get this thing through that infamous garage door on the side of the shop. I had made doubly sure that the tractor I got had at least a take-apart ROPS and this one did. Sort of.
Anybody out there actually try taking one of those puppies apart? Ever notice how the sides of the ROPS is angled in, making it almost impossible to lift the top part off? I wound up using a sledge hammer to take it apart, and a car jack to put it back together. One go 'round with that hassle and I was aggressively looking for alternatives.
Then I remembered that this was a slightly smaller tractor than the ones I had used for measurements a while back. According to the specs, this one is over an inch shorter! A few measurements later and I was attacking the garage doorframe with a vengeance! The problem got solved.
If anybody else has faced this problem, you may have also run into a garage door which doesn't voluntarily stay quite high enough to be out of the way when opened. Being a techie kind of guy, I came up with a high-tech solution for that one, also.
By the time that was done I had precious few hours left to master the fine art of tractoring. I drove around for a little while, getting the feel of the gears, steering and what-not. Oh yeah, about tilting -- I determined that I am unlikely to exceed 15 degrees real soon 'cuz when I hit one short stretch that was maybe 5 degrees or less I 'bout peed my pants! /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif
With the first inkling of confidence creeping in, I clamped on my bucket forks and went after a couple of logs that were clogging one of my water channels (currently dry). Buckling into my tractor feels just like putting on my Superman suite! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I hope that feeling never goes away.
I then started clearing the channel with the box scraper and bumped into a sizeable rock, mostly buried. Time for the rippers!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
I lowered 3 of the 5 shanks and dropped them behind the boulder. The rest is history. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif
Time ran out just as I was making my first attempt to dig out the water channels. I think that's going to take a little practice. Sure wish I could see the front of the bucket when I'm doing stuff like that.
Sorry for this very long post. It was just one of those hog-heaven weekends, and I had to share it with somebody.
Anybody in central California looking for any kind of tractor or implement, I'll be glad to put you in touch with Miracle Mike.
I had never met him in person before the delivery and he must have thought I was crazy, 'cuz instead of running over to jump on the tractor, I grabbed my camera and started taking pictures (gotta share with the board, don't you know). /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif
Mike proceeded to give me about a one-hour lesson on how to use the machine. He wouldn't leave until he was sure I understood all the controls and could demonstrate them to his satisfaction. I was self-conscious as hell, but it was a very worthwhile hour.
After he left, my first priority was to make sure I could get this thing through that infamous garage door on the side of the shop. I had made doubly sure that the tractor I got had at least a take-apart ROPS and this one did. Sort of.
Anybody out there actually try taking one of those puppies apart? Ever notice how the sides of the ROPS is angled in, making it almost impossible to lift the top part off? I wound up using a sledge hammer to take it apart, and a car jack to put it back together. One go 'round with that hassle and I was aggressively looking for alternatives.
Then I remembered that this was a slightly smaller tractor than the ones I had used for measurements a while back. According to the specs, this one is over an inch shorter! A few measurements later and I was attacking the garage doorframe with a vengeance! The problem got solved.
If anybody else has faced this problem, you may have also run into a garage door which doesn't voluntarily stay quite high enough to be out of the way when opened. Being a techie kind of guy, I came up with a high-tech solution for that one, also.
By the time that was done I had precious few hours left to master the fine art of tractoring. I drove around for a little while, getting the feel of the gears, steering and what-not. Oh yeah, about tilting -- I determined that I am unlikely to exceed 15 degrees real soon 'cuz when I hit one short stretch that was maybe 5 degrees or less I 'bout peed my pants! /w3tcompact/icons/blush.gif
With the first inkling of confidence creeping in, I clamped on my bucket forks and went after a couple of logs that were clogging one of my water channels (currently dry). Buckling into my tractor feels just like putting on my Superman suite! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif I hope that feeling never goes away.
I then started clearing the channel with the box scraper and bumped into a sizeable rock, mostly buried. Time for the rippers!!! /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif
I lowered 3 of the 5 shanks and dropped them behind the boulder. The rest is history. /w3tcompact/icons/cool.gif
Time ran out just as I was making my first attempt to dig out the water channels. I think that's going to take a little practice. Sure wish I could see the front of the bucket when I'm doing stuff like that.
Sorry for this very long post. It was just one of those hog-heaven weekends, and I had to share it with somebody.
